Chapter 533: The Battle of Stars and Stripes (Part 2)
When the Nightmare army advanced to 500 meters, Marcus gave the order again.
"Flame of Freedom, fire!"
Behind the crenellations of the city wall, hundreds of Freedom Flame rapid-fire cannons roared simultaneously.
The cannon barrel is slender and cast from an alloy of black iron and red copper. The eagle-wing-shaped heat sinks on both sides of the barrel vibrate violently when fired.
The recoil force is absorbed by the spring buffer device, and the barrel only produces a very slight vibration and deviation, requiring no additional firing adjustment.
The loader inserts the short, stubby shells filled with grapeshot into the breech. Each shell contains thirty-two lead pellets and spreads out in a fan shape after being fired.
A barrage of artillery fire was unleashed, with dozens of rapid-fire cannons simultaneously spewing flames and lead pellets, creating a metal storm that fanned out and covered the entire area within a 500-meter radius in front of the city wall.
The rotting corpses in the front row were riddled with holes by lead pellets, dozens of small holes bursting open on their grayish-white skin at the same time, with purple fluid spurting out from each hole.
A round of shelling sent rows of rotting corpses crashing down.
The comments section erupted once again.
【DaXia Netizen】: "Holy crap!! The Flame of Freedom rapid-fire cannon!! Two or three rounds per minute, 320 lead bullets covering the area in a fan shape, leaving nothing but barren land within 500 meters!"
【Annan Netizen】: "The United States does indeed rely on its military equipment for its livelihood."
【European Netizen】: "Unfortunately, the Nightmare Clan won't just rely on the Corpse Men to charge forward. Just wait and see, the best is yet to come."
When the monster got within 300 meters, the archers on the city wall began to fire.
【American Netizen】: "Look closely! They're using 'Ash Piercing Arrows'! The range is increased by 50%, reaching 300 meters!"
【European Netizen】: "The penetrating power of this arrow was so great that it even pierced through the bones of a rotting corpse!"
But the Nightmare Clan's counterattack was equally deadly. Shadow projectiles of wriggling shadows surged from behind the ranks of the Corpse Men. They had no fixed shape; they were just clumps of wriggling black shadows.
He separated a fist-sized amount of shadow energy from his body, condensed it into a sphere, and shot it towards any target on the city wall.
The Shadow Bullet's flight path was slightly curved, leaving a very thin, dark purple trail in the air before it struck the battlements and exploded.
Each Shadow Bolt applies a "Shadow Corruption" stack upon hitting the target, causing the target to lose an additional 5 health points per second for 10 seconds.
The archers on the city wall began to suffer casualties.
Someone was hit in the chest by a Shadow Bolt, and his leather armor was corroded, leaving a fist-sized hole.
Someone was hit in the arm, and within seconds the shadow eroded the flesh, leaving it charred black.
But the rain of arrows did not stop; for every person who fell, another would take their place.
Just then, Shadow Wolf charged to the front of the army.
Instead of attacking the city gate head-on, they charged directly onto the city wall.
The Shadow Wolf's claws can easily embed themselves in the gaps between the city bricks, allowing it to run on vertical walls as if walking on flat ground.
Dozens of shadow wolves leaped onto the ramparts at the same moment, their mouths splitting open to their ears, revealing rows of fine teeth that flashed in the torchlight before biting into the throat of an archer.
"On the city wall! The Shadow Wolf has climbed the wall!" The communications soldier's roar rang out.
Marcus drew his command sword, the tip aimed at the dark purple figures on the city wall: "Reserves, advance! All melee units, the crenellations are your defensive line! Do not retreat a single step!"
The Awakened Ones waiting inside the city walls rushed forward, their swords and the claws of the Shadow Wolves clashing behind the crenellations.
The Shadow Wolf was too fast. Its first attack from the shadows dealt 50% more damage, and the bleeding effect from the torn wounds caused the defenders' health bars to drop continuously.
Each time another Shadow Wolf is added nearby, their attack power increases by one layer, up to a maximum of five layers.
The defensive line behind the barricades shook violently under the onslaught of the Shadow Wolves.
Just then, the searchlights on the top of the city wall suddenly turned, and the pale beams of light swept across every corner of the city wall where fierce fighting was taking place.
Immediately afterwards, a system notification exploded in the minds of all the defenders.
Stars and Stripes Forever, Activate!
At the top of the city gate, a flag embroidered with the Stars and Stripes suddenly lit up in the darkness.
The light spread from the banner, covering the entire Stars and Stripes city and every soldier on the walls.
An invisible law enveloped the entire city, and the fear and dread of death vanished from the eyes of all the guards.
They no longer retreated, no longer feared. Even with multiple stab wounds and mutilated limbs, they gritted their teeth and plunged their weapons into the enemy's body.
The entire city was plunged into an extremely fierce "fight to the death" situation.
The live chat suddenly fell silent. There were no jokes or banter; everyone was shocked by the horrific scene.
【Mao Xiong Netizen】: "..."
【DaXia Netizen】: "..."
【European Netizen】: "May God redeem these courageous souls..."
However, courage can never bridge the gap in strength.
As the battle reached its most intense moment, two hundred Nightmare Faceless Ones, each nearly three meters tall, slowly descended from the sky.
The white cracks on their heads emitted a cold white light, and without even taking action, the mere pressure they exuded slowed down the movements of the surrounding guards.
This can no longer be called an attack; it's a one-sided massacre.
The shadows tore at the defenders, severing their lifeline, and the falling night robbed them of their last glimpse of the world.
Before the Nightmare Faceless One, the lives of 300,000 defenders were harvested like weeds.
A young white awakened being was torn apart in the chest by the shadow of the Faceless One, his body flying backward and crashing heavily onto the battlements.
His level was only five, which was the lowest level among the Awakened. He didn't even have standard equipment and was only wearing an old leather armor.
He struggled to stand up, but the Faceless One was already standing in front of him.
He looked up at the face without features, and suddenly smiled, revealing a missing front tooth.
“You’re fucking ugly,” he said.
The light, torn apart by the shadows, engulfed him.
Half an hour later.
In the scene, the last defender, after biting through the neck of a shadow wolf, is pierced through the chest by a huge arthropod.
He lay in a pool of blood, his fingers still tightly gripping half of the broken knife.
Immediately afterwards, the live broadcast signal was completely cut off, and the screen turned into a lifeless expanse of static.
In the Blue Star live stream room, only ellipses filled the screen and silent mourning remained.
【DaXia Netizen】: "Stars and Stripes City...has fallen."
【Ottoman Netizen】: "They're all dead. Three hundred thousand people, all dead."
【European Netizen】: "May they rest in peace. Regardless of their camp or stance, they are heroes tonight."
【Netizen from Maoxiong】: "Who will be next?"